In the following excerpt, Lee explores the complex matrix of historical, geographic, and cultural legacies that underlies Chicano identity, as well as the significance of memory and remembrance in Chicano literature, particularly in Bless Me, Ultima.

To John J. Halcón and María De La Luz Reyes

For those of us who listen to the Earth, and to the old legends and myths of the people, the whispers of the blood draw us to our past.